Table Mountain had a record number of rescue callouts in 2016 for hikers and tourists getting lost‚ dehydrated‚ injured or dying.
Wilderness Search and Rescue‚ which co-ordinates rescues there and elsewhere in the Western Cape‚ recorded 175 incidents for the year versus 169 in 2015.
Spokesman Johan Marais said on Friday that the three most common incidents that search and rescue teams responded to were people getting lost‚ injured or dehydrated — most of them tourists.
Rescuers were sent on New Year’s day to help a dehydrated 46-year-old hiker from KwaZulu-Natal who was stranded on the Platteklip Gorge footpath.
She was airlifted to safety by the Air Mercy Service rescue helicopter carrying a hoist operator‚ technical rescuer and an advanced life support paramedic. The helicopter landed in a nearby parking lot and an ambulance took her to hospital.
"The majority of people who report incidents are people from overseas; about 70% of our calls is to rescue a tourist. People underestimate Table Mountain," he said. "They misjudge the size of the mountain and they go unprepared. They don’t take water with and they wear flip flops."
Cape Town can notoriously have four seasons in one day. Marais said people going up the mountain should bring appropriate clothing in case the weather changes.
He said that recovering bodies of people who jumped to their deaths on purpose were the worst for rescue workers, but most rescues were very rewarding.
Four people died on Table Mountain in 2016‚ according to statistics provided by the SA Mountain Accidents Database. About 50 people were injured.
Considering how many people visited the mountain‚ the number of people injured or stranded is relatively small. Wahida Parker‚ MD of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company‚ said that about a million people visit Table Mountain every year.
Wilderness Search and Rescue uses volunteers and works closely with organisations such as K9 Search and Rescue‚ Cape Nature‚ SANParks‚ Mountain Club of South Africa Search and Rescue‚ Hikers Network‚ Four Wheel Drive Club of South Africa and the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service.
Marais has advice for people planning to climb Table Mountain:
Come prepared and tell people what route you are taking;
Never go up the mountain by yourself;
Wear the appropriate hiking gear‚ bring along warm clothes‚ water and a fully charged cellphone;
If you are lost or hurt and need assistance send clear images of where you are. The team knows the mountain. By looking at the images you send they can see where you are. If you cannot do so‚ phone 021 937 0300 for help.
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